Vietnamese stock prices tumbled on Sept. 16 following
stock markets around the world in the wake of rising concerns over the
US financial crisis.


Almost all Asian markets slumped on Sept. 16, a day
after Lehman Brothers filed for bank ruptcy protection and Merill Lynch
agreed to sell itself to Bank of America. Two more names being removed
from the Wall Street map after Bear Sterns means that three of the US
’s top five financial institutions have run into trouble in the last
six months.


Wave of sales pushed the VN-Index down 20.81 points,
or 4.36 percent, to close at 455.95. Trading volume reached 16 million
shares, more than half of Monday’s figure, with a total revenue of
570.88 VND billion (34.6 USD million).


The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on Sept. 16 had
148 lossers, the majority of which hit the floor. These included blue
chips such as Binh Dinh Minerals (BMC). Financing and Promoting
Technology Co (FPT), Hoa Phat Group (HPG), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI),
Phu My Fertilisers (DPM) and Sacombank (STB).


Vinamilk (VNM) was the biggest loser, falling 5.05
percent. This was followed by FPT with 4.94 percent, and BMC with 4.8
percent.


STB, however, saw the most action with orders for 3.4 million shares.


Foreign investors bought 2.44 million shares and sold
2.7 million units, with net sales value narrowed to 40.2 billion VND
(2.44 million USD) from Sept. 15’s 100.86 billion VND (6.1 million USD).


In Hanoi Securities Trading Centre, the HASTC-Index
slipped 7.82 points, or 4.8 percent, to end at 155.08. Trading volume
hit 9.12 million shares worth 339.36 billion VND (20.56 million USD).


Major stocks including Kim Long Securities (KLS),
Petroleum Technical Services Corp (PVS) and PetroVietnam Insurrance
(PVI) hit the floor.


Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) led the market in terms of trading volume, with 1.37 million shares traded.


The price of diesel, which greatly affects
enterprises’ production and business results, eased slightly by 450 VND
per litre on Sept. 16 to a price of between 15,450-15,500 VND
(93.6-93.9 US cents), due to adjustments made by the Ministry of
Finance.


The adjustment followed the trend in the world market, said the ministry.


Due to the dim outlook of the US economy, world oil
price on Sept. 16 dropped 3.68 USD a barrel down to 92 USD, the lowest
level since mid-February. Crude oil was thrown into the pile of assets
being liquidated by investors around the world to fund losing bets and
to cut their exposure to risk, according to a Reuters report.


Investors were waiting for more news to determine
market trends. Companies’ third quarter business results and
macro-level indexes will not be announced until the end of September.
The market will see both ups and downs this week, however it will
overall likely remain in a downward trend in the short-term, predicted
Euro Capital Securities in a report.


Investors were worried about the lower-than-expected
business results given by listed firms this quarter due to the
petroleum price adjustment over the last few months, said Agribank
Securities analyst Dao Van Khanh.